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does anyone with a MT wish 1st gear had a wider range ? many times when I leave the blocks at a light I get automatics immediately on my tail ! if the roadway after the light puts me in the "breakdown" lane I'm fine and I just stay there and let everyone pass , but if it's the Indy lane I end up rushing through the gears or do a right signal back to the "breakdown" which can be tricky with rush hour traffic :-) !!!!!!

does anyone with a MT wish 1st gear had a wider range ? many times when I leave the blocks at a light I get automatics immediately on my tail ! if the roadway after the light puts me in the "breakdown" lane I'm fine and I just stay there and let everyone pass , but if it's the Indy lane I end up rushing through the gears or do a right signal back to the "breakdown" which can be tricky with rush hour traffic :-) !!!!!!

Typically I only use 1st gear on hills or inclines and never on flat starts.. you can safely start out in 2nd gear and be just fine, I do it all the time...do this and you'll never have an automatic on your heels again..

does anyone with a MT wish 1st gear had a wider range ? many times when I leave the blocks at a light I get automatics immediately on my tail ! if the roadway after the light puts me in the "breakdown" lane I'm fine and I just stay there and let everyone pass , but if it's the Indy lane I end up rushing through the gears or do a right signal back to the "breakdown" which can be tricky with rush hour traffic :-) !!!!!!

I had the same kind of reaction to the gearing when I first got my X3; seemed to me that 1st was too much of a "granny gear" for the vehicle.

But, as others have pointed out, you can start in 2nd pretty readily, and reserve 1st for steep hills, poor traction, or towing (should you elect to do so with your X3). In retrospect, BMW seems to have covered the widest range of contingencies with the gearing.

Typically what I do is shift into 2nd almost immediately... like when I hit 1500 RPM or so, and then I'll ride out the rest of the gears to a little above 3K (until I reach whatever speed I intend to). Or you can just give more throttle so that you can leave first quicker.

I find myself always leaving a pretty decent gap between me and the person behind me if I do one of the above. If I leisurely accelerate to 2500-3000RPM in 1st gear, then people will be on my tail.

What am I missing here? Typically on a flat freeway entrance ramp I'll start in 1st, rev up to maybe 3500 or 4000, shift into 2nd, and merge into traffic in either 2nd or 3rd. Don't have any problem with cars on my tail.

What am I missing here? Typically on a flat freeway entrance ramp I'll start in 1st, rev up to maybe 3500 or 4000, shift into 2nd, and merge into traffic in either 2nd or 3rd. Don't have any problem with cars on my tail.

If I started in 2nd, it would be even slower.

A lot of people I know simply don't feel comfortable with increasing the revs quickly. When the gears are short, the car will accelerate really slowly if you're the type of person who doesn't like quickly increasing the revs.

A lot of people I know simply don't feel comfortable with increasing the revs quickly. When the gears are short, the car will accelerate really slowly if you're the type of person who doesn't like quickly increasing the revs.

Aha, I guess I understand that.

But I thought BMW engine is designed for responsiveness, including quick acceleration and high revs. I don't think I'm getting anywhere close to the engine's capabilities when I do a freeway merge.

But I thought BMW engine is designed for responsiveness, including quick acceleration and high revs. I don't think I'm getting anywhere close to the engine's capabilities when I do a freeway merge.

I do know I take an MPG hit, but that's worth it for a safe merge.

BMW designs the gear ratios for a wide range of speeds. Remember, this means acceleration and cruising up to the whole 232 km/h top speed. Often in the US, we can think that the spread is too wide when really, Americans don't (legally or often) go past 130km/h.

I thought that the ratios on my mom's 325i were too wide (they kind of are); 4th gear gets to 6000rpm at 200km/h (124mph) so really I only use 1-2-3 in hard acceleration. But 200 isn't really the "left lane" of the autobahn, more like......250 lol.